8 Places to Get Free Arbor Day Trees

Join the Arbor Day Foundation

This option isn't completely free but it sure makes for some cheap trees while you're supporting the trees. If you join the Arbor Day Foundation (for just $10 for a 6-month membership) you get to choose 10 free trees to either be mailed to you or as a gift for someone else.

You'll get to choose between trees that are available based on where you live. There's a wide variety of flowering trees and other trees that may be available in your area. They'll tell you the date that they'll be mailed to you after you select your trees. After you've chosen your trees, you can choose your donation amount.

Plan a Tree Planting Event

If you have a group that would like to plant some trees in your community, you can apply for free native tree seedlings through the National Wildlife Federation. Once you're approved you'll get the free trees and lots of resources on how to hold a successful tree planting event. Invite all your friends, family, and community members and spend a day or weekend planting trees where they're needed the most. It's important to note that these trees aren't available every year, and when they are they're given away in the spring.

Check for Local Tree Planting Organizations

Call your city planning office and see if there are any programs in your local area that give out free trees. The L.A.-based City Plants does just this by delivering yard trees to your home for you to plant or showing up to plant street trees for you. Other cities have similar programs so check to see if one is available in your area.

Look Around Your Yard

You may have free tree seedlings right out in your yard that you've never noticed before. You can transplant these seedlings to other parts of your yard where you'd like to have a new tree. It's also possible to grow a tree from a seed and you can collect seeds from the trees you already have to plant more trees.

Use a Seed Library or Exchange

A seed library is just what it sounds like, a library of seeds. For free, or sometimes a small fee, you can take seeds from the seed library and use them to plant trees in your yard. There are also seed exchanges, where you can trade seeds you don't want with others who have seeds that you do want.

Watch for Free Tree Promotions

Some hardware stores, nurseries, and even government offices will occasionally give out free trees for Arbor Day, Earth Day, or for other reasons. These are great ways that the whole community can get free trees. Subscribe to flyers, and emails, and follow these places on social media so you'll know when they are.

Ask Your Neighbors

The people in your local community can be great resources for getting all kinds of stuff, trees included. You can check with your neighbors, local Facebook neighborhood groups, and Freecycle to see if you can find some free tree saplings. You can also check with a local selling app to see if you can pick up some for a low cost. I've seen cheap and free plants and trees at garage sales before so don't rule those out either.

Take Advantage of Catalog Promotions

There are dozens of free seed and plant catalogs that you can request to be mailed to your home for free. Many of these same catalogs also sell trees. The new catalogs are often sent out in late winter so gardeners can start planning for spring and summer. Sometimes these catalogs have valuable coupons, or even gift certificates, that you can use to buy trees for your yard. Even if you don't get a coupon or gift certificate, many of the companies have special offers on tree purchases during the spring.